The Washington Post has pointed out a series of contradictions in President Barack Obama's claims about guns, awarding him three Pinocchios for recent statements he's made.

In a speech delivered to college students last week, Obama claimed that America's homicide rates are much higher than industrialized nations, a fact that the Post said was inaccurate.

He also suggested that in some neighborhoods it's easier to buy a firearm than to buy a book or a fresh vegetable, and that there have been proposals to allow people to have firearms in kindergarten and machine guns in bars.

"The president was playing fast and loose with his language here — to a group of college students no less. There's little excuse for the claim that in some neighborhoods, it is easier to buy a gun than vegetable or to say he's 'not exaggerating' when he claims that some people have proposed laws that would allow machine guns in bars," the Post said.

"The gun debate is serious enough that it should not be poisoned by exaggerated claims and faux statistics."

The Post said that the ironic result is that firearm sales will skyrocket under Obama, and that in total the jump in ammunition sales will result in a $9 billion to $10 billion increase under Obama and will continue to grow through the end of 2016.

The White House has said that Obama is committed to "common-sense" gun regulations, The Hill reported.

"The president's commitment to putting in place common-sense rules that will protect Second Amendment rights, but also prevent those who shouldn't have firearms from getting them, is as strong as ever." White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday, according to The Hill.

Meanwhile, ATF also delayed a plan to ban 5.56-mm M855 "green tip" bullets which are used in AR-15 rifles. Democrats on Capitol Hill were critical of the administration's move.

"It's shameful that the gun lobby has, yet again, successfully worked to block an effort that would keep our communities safer from the threat of gun violence," Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney told The Hill.